An item was added to the agenda: Draw for the power wash gift certificate under Parks

Agenda approval was moved by Maeve, seconded by Darlene, and approved.

3. Approval of the minutes from the January 22, 2016 meeting

The minutes of the January 22 meeting were moved by Peggy, seconded by Maeve, and approved.

4. Business arising from the last meeting

Scott – had raised the issue of New Park Space from Federal Land with GCA. GCA had already supported this with a motion. No further issues to raise.

Peggy – Henry Lane – Goes back to safety audit. Peggy has found that Henry Lane is public property. Peggy will write a letter to David Chernushenko. Ms. Schnob has passed away. Maeve has identified that there is hydro pole that could be used.

Action Item – Peggy will write a letter to the councillor regarding to correct the city on the ownership of Henry Lane.

All other action items from January minutes have been completed.

5. Treasurer’s Report

Deferred until Chris returns from winter vacation

6. Planning

Motion to financially support the Dalhousie Community Association in OMB application to address the planned highrise on Norman Street. The proposed amount was $100.00. (The complete motion is contained in Appendix A.)

Maeve moved the motion. Ron seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Items to the Councillor

None.

Textbook Suites (774 Bronson Ave.) – Correct Agenda.

Thanks to Brenda for updating the contact information. Sent email to our residents regarding the proposal.

7. Membership

Brenda is concerned about maintaining our members and attracting new members.

Scott is confident that with contact information that we can get our normal level of members.

Scott asked if there are issues that residents are interested in that we’re not speaking about. Peggy noted that when we signed up members for the first time, the application forms included questions about resident concerns. Will have another opportunity to speak with residents about their priorities when we canvass door-to-door.

Defer further discussion to next month.

8. Parks

Darlene will go to Feb. 24th meeting. GCA will be discussing funding for parks. New park design consultation. Mentioned in the Glebe Report on p. 4.

Received certificate for Cleaning the Capital. Conducted draw for Cleaning the Capital for a $500 gift certificate for power washing services. Won by David Perkins in a draw conducted by President Blurton. Darlene will notify David. GACA executive decided to give the two T-shirts to Iain for the contributions of his two children, Ethan and Ella Wood. Decision passed unanimous.

9. Ottawa 2017/FCA Report

Maeve noted that it was the 50th anniversary of Carleton University. Residents can contribute their memories. Maeve is on the organizing committee.

Scott gave an update on the FCA February meeting which included details on the Ottawa 2017 Program

10. GCA Report

Scott gave an update – highlights include:

There was a presentation on parklets, which are being piloted around the city. From Carleton’s Faculty of Architecture, they included a small library and two adjustable seating areas made of wood. One of the proposals had foldable chairs which was quite innovative. There is room in the pilot for about 25 parklets. These parklets would take up a single parking spot. Examples include a book swap, DBRs, mode block (includes sliding benches and moving tables, like a moving landscape. Can be tailored to the space. They need the location included in the application. From a design point of view they are ready to go. GCA is looking at 4 locations supporting by the Bank BIA.

Traffic Committee update on Bronson development: Major concern is the lack of parking. Developer is building 30 spaces for 181 units versus 110 from the new expected city requirements. David will not support the GCA on this particular part of this file. Environment Committee chair was a little disappointed. Lots of discussion over this fil – several members have expressed support for David’s position and questioning the Environment Committee’s position. City has stated that there will no be on-street parking permits allotted. Motion passes.

11. Glebe Report

No items to contribute for the next month. Look into Henry Lane story following discussions with the city.

12. Other Business

Ron Poirier attended a Public Information Centre on Highway 417 Noise Barrier Retrofits on January 20. Notes from the meeting are contained in Appendix B.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:45

The next meet is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, at 6:30 pm.

Appendix A

MOTION TO SUPPORT DALHOUSIE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION IN OMB HEARING

BACKGROUND

The Dalhousie Community Association is currently involved in an OMB hearing about a proposed high rise development on Norman St. The Association is represented by Save Little Italy, a group of residents who have been trying to influence the scale and location of development in their neighbourhood.

They are appealing a City of Ottawa decision to allow a nine story building to be built on Norman Street which is a one block, dead end street off Preston. This development would add 157 extra units on a street with about 8 single family homes – leading to severe traffic congestion, shadowing of the neighbourhood and disrupting the established residential character of Norman St.

Appealing to the OMB requires a team of urban planning experts to address legal, traffic, parking and design implications of a proposal. The Save Little Italy group has organized several fundraising dinners, sold t-shirts and coffee, planted tulips on Preston Street for the BIA, had an electronic recycling day to raise funds, etc. This group of residents has worked really hard at their fundraising, but they are still about $1000 short of funds to pay fees and charges associated with this appeal.

There are a lot of similarities between this proposal and Taggart’s 18 storey proposal for 265 Carling Ave. (facing Carling, bordering Cambridge and Clemow). This OMB hearing may very well come to observations and conclusions that have a bearing on other Bronson Ave./ Carling Ave. development proposals currently in the works. It is in GACA’s interest to support this OMB hearing.

MOTION

I propose that GACA donate $100 out of our Operating Funds to the Save Little Italy group of Dalhousie Community Association to support their OMB hearing.

CONSIDERATIONS:

GACA’s Operating Funds at January 2016 were $926.

Our main source of revenue is membership.

We expect to collect about $900 in membership dues in the membership drive planned for May 2016, possibly doubling the size of the Operating Funds

Ron Poirier attended a Public Information Centre (PIC) regarding the Highway 417 Noise Barrier Retrofits on behalf of the Glebe Annex Community Association:

Summary Conclusion:

The proposed project is following standard processes and should have minimal short-term impacts on GACA members/stakeholders (Bronson exit ramps will be affected 6-8 weeks, Bronson Pedestrian traffic will be closed on alternating sides in 1-3 week intervals), with possible long term benefits (better noise barriers for surrounding neighbourhoods, lessons learned for future projects directly on GACA borders). Maximum noise level impacts are expected to drop in the “affected areas” (not GACA). Current noise barriers on the border of GACA include concrete on the 417 North and South. Metal barriers exist east of Bronson. N.B. for the GACA stakeholders; barriers on the border of the GACA will be re-done along with other projects relating to HWY 417, the Bronson bridge replacements and off-ramp construction.

Ron submitted written feedback on the traffic management during construction re: the following: When pedestrian traffic is forced to use the western Bronson sidewalk, consider a ban on right-hand-on-red turns at the bottom of the Hwy 417 eastbound exit; drivers are only looking left for on-coming traffic, the re-direction of pedestrian traffic will increase north bound pedestrians (ex. closures prevents one from using the east side of Bronson to avoid this intersection) which could lead to higher possibility of collision.

Overview:

Highway 417 Noise Barrier Retrofits between the O-Train and the Rideau Canal

A Public Information Centre (PIC) regarding the Highway 417 Noise Barrier Retrofits between the O-Train tracks and the Rideau Canal was held on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to review the detail design, provide input, and discuss the project with members of the Project Team.

The above web link provides access to the display boards used at the PIC

Public Review of the Design and Construction Report (DCR) – Upon completion of the detail design, a DCR has been prepared and filed for a 30-day public review period.

Interested persons are encouraged to review this document and provide comments by March 7, 2016.

The project involves the following components: Construction of new retrofit noise barriers at the following locations:

O-Train to Preston Street (south side of Highway 417);

Bronson Avenue to Lyon Street (north side of Highway 417);

Lyon Street to the Rideau Canal (south side of Highway 417);

Construction of related works….

Traffic management during construction…

Overall one can see the barriers to be used in use at Lees Avenue currently. In the media one Councillor voiced concerns over the “clear” barriers to be used allowing visibility (over Preston Street for example) while another Councillor voiced support for their use.

Other items of interest:

2016 will see Hwy 417 resurfaced from Island Park to Nicholas. Future bridge replacements: Preston, O-Train, Bronson, Booth, Rochester. Initial thoughts shared re: staging for these bridge replacements was only speculative (ex. using the now vacated space east of Bronson on the southern border of HWY 417).

Attending Other Land Development Meetings on G.A.C.A.’s behalf: Chris McCann and Ron Poirier

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m.

2. Welcome to All:

Our new President, Scott Blurton, welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2016.

3. Approval of the Agenda: Moved by Darlene. Seconded by Maeve.

4. Minutes from the November 18th meeting-

Thank you to Peggy Kampouris (Co-secretary).

Minutes moved by Darlene. Seconded by Maeve.

5. Business Arising from the Last Meeting:

Application for Civic Funding

The application for 2016 had been submitted by our Past President, Sylvia Milne.

Unfortunately, our application for “Civic Funding” for an event in our park in 2016 was denied. Brenda presented the letter Sylvia had received from the City of Ottawa, to the board. The event needs to be tied into a long weekend.

Sixty-four applications were received totalling $157,000. The total amount available was $50,000.

Any future event in our park will have to come out of G.A.C.A. funds. We will still need a permit for any event.

In regards to storage of these types of letters from the City, it was proposed that some sort of binder be kept so that all of these letters can be filed by the names of committees. Darlene will set up a binder and use previous documents she had received from our past secretary, Lisa Furrie.

New Park Space from Federal Land

A response was received from Ken Slemko. Sue Stefko (our Parks’ Chair) had responded to this email inquiry. She has not heard back yet from the office of our new Ottawa Centre Member of Parliament, Catherine McKenna.

Action Item: Scott will follow up with the G.C.A. to make sure it is on the agenda and discussed at their next meeting on January 29th.

Henry Lane Concerns

1) The Absence/Malfunctioning of lights on Henry Street for several nights in a row in January.

This matter was attended to by the city, subsequent to Maeve’s call.

2) The Lack of Lighting on Henry Lane.

The initial concern was brought forward by longtime resident, Mrs. Schnobb, who passed away over Christmas. Maeve first called the city about it back in August. The contact there said it was not city property, so not the city’s responsibility. The person also said that there was no hydro pole there. Maeve called the person back in the fall and mentioned there was a hydro pole (or at least what she thought was a hydro pole). Then, when she called in January regarding the lack of/malfunctioning of lighting on Henry Street, she took the opportunity to again raise the Henry Lane lighting issue. The voicemail received in response to that repeated that it was not city property.

Sue Stefko has obtained further information and has forwarded it to Peggy.

Action Item: Maeve will follow up with Peggy from Sue on this file. The urgency has lowered because Mrs. Schnobb, the person most concerned with this issue, has passed away. In the past, her son had put up the light. Neighbours are still interested in pursuing this matter.

Recommendation: Look into police incident reports for the area to support contention that lighting is needed.

Discussion of the threat from break-ins in the area. Residents are invited to report any

suspicious activity to the police.

Other Business

6. Treasurer’s Report

Since Chris was attending another very important meeting on our behalf, we will be reviewing our balance at next month’s meeting. As of January 19th, there had been no changes. Full report next month.

Maeve mentioned that the owner of the Lieutenant’s Pump, John Couse, had donated $50 to G.A.C.A. A suggestion was to send a Thank You card to him.

Action Item: Brenda will take care of sending a GACA branded card with Scott’s signature.

7. Planning and Development:

Demolition of 93, 99, 103 and 105 Norman Street

The City has received our comments regarding the demolition. This is the site of the Taggart development approved for that location. The OMB appeal by the Dalhousie Association begins the week of February 1st.

The Bronson Phase II

The meeting scheduled for last week, was canceled.

770 Bronson Development

Chris McCann attended this meeting, representing the GACA Board. Some items to note which he forwarded to the Board:

The Community Consultation for the development proposal at 770 Bronson (formerly Emilio Lindia Enterprises, or auto repair garage at Bronson and Carling) included the Glebe Community, Dows Lake and Glebe Annex and was hosted by 8 representatives of the developer, FOTENN, TCUnited, JABER and the City.

The developer proposes a building of 85 rental units with 9′ ceilings and luxury amenities. The rental units would be a mix of 2 bedroom (800 sq ft), 1 bedroom (600 to 700 sq ft) and bachelor apartments plus 350 sq ft micro suites. There would be balconies facing East, North and South.

There would be 3 levels of underground parking, necessitating excavating and blasting to a depth of 45 metres.

The proposal asks the City for 3 variances from the zoning bylaw. These variances are:

1) changing the building height from 27.5 m (or 9 storeys) to 15 storeys – a 67% increase in height over the regulation

2) changing the provision for total parking – resident plus visitors – from 57 to 32 – a reduction of 44%

3) changing the maximum floor space index from 3.15 to 5.34 – an increase of 70%

[Why does the City have development rules if developers are allowed to violate these rules?]

Entrance to the underground parking would be by turning right off Carling Ave and exit from the building would be by turning right onto Bronson Ave. So if a resident wanted to leave the building and go downtown or go west of the center core they will cut through established residential neighbourhoods such as Dows Lake, the Glebe and Glebe Annex.

There is provision for a publicly accessible retail space on the second floor, perhaps a coffee shop but no attendant parking as it is assumed that all patrons, employees and trades people would commute via foot or bicycle.

Building would start in 2017 finishing in 2018. The community consultation was well attended by vocal and polite residents.

Ryan Rutherford of TC United 613 986 2527 or 613 680 5582 or ryan.rutherford@tcunitedgroup.com is open to dialogue.

Sound Barrier and Queensway

Ron Poirier is attending a meeting by the Ministry of Transportation regarding the sound barrier on the 417, running concurrently with this meeting.

He will report back to us at the next meeting.

Lebreton Development

Members are encouraged to watch the online webcast and participate in the online questionnaire regarding the proposals. Scott had expressed his interest but he will need to go to the GCA meeting that night. He will find someone to go. GACA will need to review the proposals before rendering its position.

8. Membership – Brenda Quinlan

Brenda reported that we are in a crisis. We are short of members and people on the board. She had a few suggestions to improve our situation:

1. Recruit people from the Lakelander:

Brenda will send Marni Crossley, President, an email.

The problem is that we don’t have anyone else from some of the other major

apartment buildings and condominiums. We need eleven canvassers for membership.

Brenda’s suggestion: Send an email to our current members. We are not having success with our website. We need to review how we’re doing that. Brenda is looking to do a direct email to members.

2. Hold a “Canvassing Campaign” in May.

Scott will participate. We rejected PayPal as an option. We need canvassers. Scott will check with Abbas to sit outside in the springtime to sell memberships and be available to answer questions, like an “Outdoor Open House”.

Two options: Canvass over a month or canvass during a one-day blitz.

Action Items: This will be discussed further at the next meeting. Brenda and Chris can only vote by proxy for the next 2 months. She recommended sending an email by the end of March.

Darlene will look into getting the email membership list from Lisa. Scott will inquire into logins for the GACA website and Twitter.

Scott will write a letter entitled, “From the President” for the Glebe Report and for a mass email to members.

9.Ottawa 2017 Program

There is nothing new to report on Ottawa 2017 at this time. Details are available in Appendix A from the “Ottawa 2017 Presentation” in the November 18th minutes.

10.Bike Rodeo (Part of CanBike Program by Cycling Canada)

The “Bike Rodeo” is not under the “Ottawa 2017” initiative. Brenda has been in contact with the woman who can provide the funds for this initiative.

Action Item: Need for setting a date. Saturday May 28th or Saturday June 4th.

May 28th is the preference.

Weekday Event? Whole afternoon workshop for adults. This would be great for the retired people who are available. Brenda suggested June 9th or 17th for an adult session.

11. Parks

Sue Stefko has been keeping us in the loop by forwarding to Darlene all of the emails from the G.P.C. Meetings (Minutes) and any new updates.

She attended the last Glebe Parks’ Committee on behalf of GACA in December. The committee had investigated the issue and concluded that the Dalhousie South Park did not fit the defined criteria for the “Pop-Up Parklet” initiative, due our park’s location. The pop-up parks idea is meant to go along busy streets, and turn them into temporary cafes or gathering spaces – not parks. The Parks committee figured it wasn’t a good match because we don’t have any busy commercial streets in our area. The “Pop-Up Parklet” is meant for something like Bank Street, for instance.

Fall Cleanup Update

Our group, thanks to Sue Stefko, won a draw prize for submitting its fall clean-up report. A draw will be held at our next board meeting for all those in our community who participated.

Spring 2016 Cleanup Campaign: Runs April 15th to May 15th.

G.A.C.A.’s date will be Saturday,May 7th with a rain date of Saturday, May 14th.

Darlene Charron will be assisting with coordination and will fill out our online application when the City of Ottawa’s “Spring Cleaning the Capital” website is up around March 15th.

She will also be attending the Tim Horton’s 2015 Cleaning the Capital Recognition Event on behalf of G.A.C.A., at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, January 26th.

12. FCA Reportand the Glebe Report

Action Item: Scott will send a letter in point form to Doug Milne within two days. Doug has kindly offered to write up our news and developments for submission to the Glebe Report.

Suggestion: Post the latest news on a bulletin board at Abbas. Mention that residents will be soliciting help for canvassing. We encourage participation from our community.

Sylvia called the meeting to order at 6:35pm and welcomed everyone in attendance. Sylvia welcomed all returning Directors, and thanked all retiring Directors.

Approval of the agenda

The Board approved the agenda.

Approval of the minutes from the September 16, 2015 meeting

The minutes of the October 21 meeting were approved.

Business arising from the last meeting

Application for civic funding

Sylvia advised that as a follow-on for the application for civic funding, she did some research into the required insurance. An original quote for $350.00 / year was obtained. Sylvia subsequently spoke with Vaughn Guy, Treasurer of the Glebe Community Association, who advised that a one-time event-specific insurance can be obtained for $125.00.

Leadership Breakfast at City Hall

Sylvia attended a Leadership Breakfast at City Hall on earlier in the week.

A major focus of the meeting was an overview of the LRT construction, planned for implementation in mid-2015. The various communities present had the opportunity to present their priorities for 2016. Sylvia stressed the importance to the Board of remaining vocal and visible to the Councillor Chernushenko’s Office on GACA’s priorities and what we’re working on to ensure that they are considered when funding decisions are made.

We should provide a list of GACA priorities to Davis Chernushenko, responsible City departments as well as copying the Glebe Community Association.

Treasurer’s report

Chris provided a summary of GACA’s account activities in the last month.

Starting balance: $1,489.00

Seed money for reserve fund:-500.00

989.00

Cash from new/ renewed memberships: +120.00

Current Account Balance: $1,109.00

The Board confirmed the motion to deposit $200.00 as an annual contribution to the contingency fund, which will be deposited each November (and confirmed annually). This would leave $909.00 of operating revenue.

It was noted that the 2016 membership drive is not yet complete, with a concerted effort planned for the spring of 2016.

Membership report

Brenda confirmed that the Board has agreed to hold off on the formal membership campaign until the spring of 2016. A summary of 2016 memberships sold to date includes:

32 regular memberships

1 two-year corporate membership

Total membership revenue to date: $420.00

Parks

Sue recently attended a workshop on Starting a Community Garden. She provided a summary of what’s required.

A substantial amount of labour will be required from the community to start a community garden, including acquiring the land.

Sue did some research on the vacant lot on Bell St. South between Maclean St and Carling Avenue. The lot is part of a six-part strategic land disposal, managed by Public Works Canada, which will see the land transferred to the Canada Lands Corporation for sale at market value. This transfer is expected to be complete in February 2016. Basic studies have been done on land contaminants and stability.

Next steps include requesting the support and intervention by Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna on the community’s behalf to facilitate the transfer of the land to the City of Ottawa. Sue has drafted a motion for the Glebe Community Association to review at their next Board meeting. This motion is attached to these minutes as Appendix B.

Action: Sue has requested that Board Directors review this motion and provide input to her no later than Tuesday, November 24.

Ottawa 2017 Program

Brenda attended a meeting at City Hall last week to hear about the plans for Canada’s 150th Birthday – the Ottawa 2017 Program. The Program will include provisions for community events through an enhanced Civic Funding program. In 2017, $200,000 will be available for Civic Funding projects (up to $,5000 per project or, if two communities join forces for an event, to a maximum of $10,000). Community Associations and Not-for-Profit organizations are eligible to apply for funding. Events must be around statutory holidays or long weekends. The idea is to foster civic pride, celebrate communities, and inspire youth. Festival in a Box is available to participants and businesses – it contains banners and balloons. Applications for projects are to be received by the summer of 2016.

Additional notes related to the Ottawa 2017 presentation are contained in Appendix A.

Action: Iain will create a poster to advertise the AGM and will put copies up around the neighbourhood.

Other business

Henry Lane Lighting

Sue has done further research on the title of the land in Henry Lane, between Bell St. and Lebreton St. Our Community Safety Audit identified this lane as needing lighting. An existing light and pole are situated near Henry St., and until recent years, was maintained by a nearby resident. During a meeting with Councillor Chernushenko last year to review the recommendations from the Safety Audit, we were advised that the lane was not City property. Sue has obtained further information from the Land Registry, and will forward it to Peggy for follow-up.

Arts, culture and festival industry involved as well as BIAs in 2017 push

New Arts Court will open in 2017

7-8m tourists annually increase by 1.75m – more than PanAm games in TO

Improve the perception of Ottawa – bring about new image

Festival in a Box available to participants and businesses – banners, balloons – paint the town

Funds come from city, province, federal and private business such as Ottawa Senators

City bidding for Junos, Heritage Hockey and Grey Cup

City has Nat’l Road Racing with Gatineau, Nat’l Video Game Awards (can help grow video game industry in Ottawa), Nat’l Whitewater Kayak Championships, Na’tl Track and Field Championships, CanAm All Star Game

40 embassies in Ottawa to sponsor special events at Aberdeen Pavilion on their country’s national day

Picnic July 2nd on sod-covered Alexandria bridge

150 maple trees to be planted in each Ward

Possible food festival ie meals for $20.17

Special 2017 component to festivals such as Winterlude, Tulip, Bluesfest, Jazz etc.

May re-try for Guinness World Book record (people on canal)

Application for funds in summer 2016, selection fall 2016

Other programs may be available through Department of Canadian Heritage

Lots of excitement in room

Appendix B

Bell Street Motion:

WHEREAS a small triangle of gravelled, vacant land on Bell St South between MacLean St. and Carling Ave., which is soon to be transferred to Canada Lands Corporation, would be a significant addition to the limited available greenspace in the Glebe Annex, were it to be available for such use; and

WHEREAS

the tiny Dalhousie South Park at 343 Bell St. South is the only other publicly available greenspace available in this community; and

WHEREAS

urban greenspace is beneficial to both the community and the environment; and

WHEREAS

This low income, high density neighbourhood can use this land to great benefit by exploring options such as growing food in a community garden on this site; and

WHEREAS

This outcopping of land has little commercial value due to its small, irregular size and precarious position on the edge of a cliff,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

That the Glebe Community Association requests that the new Ottawa Centre Member of Parliament Catherine McKenna intervene on her constituency’s behalf in order to facilitate the transfer of this parcel of land from Canada Land Corporation to the City of Ottawa for the creation of much-needed community greenspace.

Sylvia called the meeting to order at 6:35pm and welcomed everyone in attendance.

Approval of the agenda

Sylvia said that she would be leading the discussion of the bike rodeo for Brenda and would be presenting the Treasurer’s Report for Chris. Maeve asked that a brief discussion of the lighting issue on Henry Lane be added to the agenda. A motion to approve the amended agenda was put forward by Scott and seconded by Maeve.

Approval of the minutes from the September 16, 2015 meeting

Peggy moved to approve the minutes from the September 16, 2015 meeting; this motion was seconded by Scott.

Business arising from the last meeting

Application for civic funding

Sylvia told the group she had submitted an application to the city for funds for community events (e.g. party in the park, movie night). The only potential issue is the need for 2 million in liability insurance. Sylvia has asked for quotations for this insurance, and once we have a sense of the amount of money involved, we will make a decision about whether or not to proceed. Our current application is for a total of $3,000, with $350 allotted to insurance. The application required that the planned event be tied to a civic holiday. Sylvia said she listed the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend; this date can be changed if the application is accepted.

The event could include any or all of the following: bike inspection, scavenger hunt and movie night.

Green space

Sue said that David’s office had responded to her letter about the green space beside the Bell Tower building stating that because it is private land there is little that the city can do to influence its use. The Councillor’s office suggested contacting 311 to report that the land is in need of maintenance.

Sue told the group she will be attending a workshop in early November on how to create a community garden. This land could be the site of a community garden. Raised beds would be a solution if the site is too contaminated. Another possible use is as a dog run, Sylvia said.

Action: Sue will contact the Real Property section of PWGSC about the land.

Treasurer’s report

GACA’s account currently shows a balance of $1,253, which includes $500 allotted to the contingency fund. There is a $52 cheque that has been written but has not yet been cashed.

Membership report

Sylvia said one membership had been sold at the community clean up.

The group discussed changing the date of the membership drive from November to the spring.

Action: Sylvia will meet with Brenda to discuss the possibility of moving the timing of the membership drive.

Community clean up

Darlene said she was disappointed with the turn out for the fall clean up. Ian said the spring clean up had attracted more people. One possible reason was that we had included a barbecue with that clean up. Sue suggested that the board decide on a date for the fall clean up before it breaks for the summer. Lisa suggested adding a calendar of events to the website so people would have advance notice of upcoming events.

Action: Darlene will send the template for the appreciation certificate to David so he can update it and Darlene can present a new certificate to Tim Horton’s as thanks for the contribution to the fall clean up.

Sylvia told the group she had written a letter to Glebe High School about garbage in our neighbourhood from its students. She will send the same letter to McDonalds.

Annual General Meeting

Sylvia reviewed the agenda for the AGM scheduled for Wednesday, October 28.

Action: Iain will create a poster to advertise the AGM and will put copies up around the neighbourhood.

Other business

Sylvia said she has been back and forth with the people who are planning the building at the corner of Bronson and Carling (on the west side). The plan is for a 9 to 12-storey upscale rental property. The big issue will be parking, she said, as it is for the proposed Sancom student building.

The deadline for submission to The Glebe Report is this coming Friday.

Action: Scott will write an article about the Lavelin land.

Sylvia talked about the bike rodeo offered by CanBike (a program from Cycling Canada). This would be a free event. There are programs for children, adults and seniors. This is something that Brenda will look into for the spring.

Maeve said that the woman who used to pay for the lighting on Henry Lane is now no longer able to afford it. There is confusion about whether or not the city is responsible for this lighting and whether or not there is a hydro pole on the lane. Sue said that she was told when they bought their house that the lane was city property. She said she will look for her deed to see if it can clarify the issue.

Maeve suggested that she might speak with the Councillor at the AGM about this issue.

Peggy told the group that she sent a letter to the Councillor’s office about the need for a three-way stop at the corner of Lebreton and Henry.

Brenda asked that there be an addition to the minutes to the effect that GACA currently has one corporate membership and that all other businesses approached about a corporate membership have declined.

David put forward a motion to approve the amended minutes; it was seconded by Chris.

Business arising from last minutes

Traffic and parks

Peggy was unable to attend the meeting, but sent a report via email. In that report, she indicated that she had attended the Glebe Community Association (GCA) Board meeting on 24 February. At that meeting, Brian Mitchell, the chair of the GCA Traffic Committee, made a presentation about the Preston Street BIA’s request for funding to further study the impact of the concept of an additional Queensway on-ramp at Booth Street. The GCA Board voted unanimously to support the BIA’s request.

Peggy emailed the GACA Board further information from the BIA regarding their proposed concept.

Peggy also indicated that she had spoken again with Roddy and Mike from Abbas Grocery about the parking petition that they had sent to the city.

Action: Peggy will discuss this with them further to determine their key concerns regarding parking.

Ken said that he had spoken with Brian Mitchell about development planned on Preston near Carling. There are concerns about density and an increase in traffic volume (particularly on Powell as a route to the Queensway). Ken mentioned the possibility of allowing left-hand turns from Lebreton onto Carling. This change would require the addition of traffic lights and a restructuring of the median. He also mentioned restricting turns left-hand turns during certain hours from Powell onto Bronson.

As mentioned previously, the city will be doing a traffic volume study on the Glebe side of Powell Avenue.

Iain suggested that GACA continue monitoring this issue.

Sue told the group that the GCA Parks Committee called for people to write to the city about the need for more funding for parks. Sue wrote a letter to the Councillor, but she has not received a response.

Action: Sue will follow up with the city about her letter.

Action: Ron will cut down some branches in the park so that the park sign is more visible.

Communications

Lisa said she has developed an email template that was used to distribute the January Board meeting minutes. She said she also updated the membership email list and indicated that there were some issues with some of the addresses that she will follow up with Brenda about.

Bronson Avenue rezoning and redevelopment

Iain told the group that, despite the objections raised with the Councillor, the rezoning of Bronson Avenue has been approved, with four storeys on the east side and six on our side. Part of the rationale given for the decision was the need to “ensure compatibility with the residential nature” of the east side of the street. Iain said he is most annoyed with the inconsistency of the decision and fears that developers will exploit this inconsistency and seek further exemptions in terms of height for future development.

At this point, the only option GACA has is to file a complaint with the OMB.

Action: Ron will draft a letter to the Councillor expressing GACA’s concerns about the wording used in the decision. The letter will also state that GACA expects the city to uphold its decision and not grant exemptions for future development.

Iain said there is a request from the city for three or four volunteers to sit on a public advisory committee on Bronson Avenue redevelopment.

Action: Ron volunteered to sit on the committee. Iain will send Ron the information about who to contact at the city for additional details.

Buses

Action: Iain will contact the GCA about their discussions on changes to bus routes 1, 6 and 7.

Graffiti

Iain told the group he had attended a Paint It Up session and that it was very useful. Unfortunately, with a deadline for applications of 1 April, it will be impossible for GACA to proceed for this year. He said he was encouraged by someone involved with Paint It Up to proceed with our project next year. That individual said that what we were proposing fit nicely with the program requirements.

Security committee

Action: Peggy will report to the Board at the next meeting.

Sue said she had called 311 about the gap underneath the sign in Dalhousie South Park.

Party in the Park

Sue said she spoke with Morris about the Party in the Park and he is happy to share the templates he developed for last year’s party.

Because we have no one who is willing to take the lead on this year’s party, and knowing how much work is involved in organizing it, Iain suggested that GACA scale back its plans and perhaps host a movie night instead.

Ron suggested that GACA could host a barbecue following the clean up. The challenge would be the weather, Sue said, because it can still be quite cold in early May.

Action: Julie offered to print some posters about the clean up and to add information about the barbecue. Iain and Craig volunteered to help Julie put up the posters around the neighbourhood.

Action: Darlene will follow up with Tim Horton’s about the doughnuts for the community clean up.

Other items

Honorary membership

Peggy informed the group via email that she spoke with Abbas and they would love to have an honorary GACA membership.

Action: Brenda will speak with Peggy and follow up on the membership for Abbas.

Sue said the city has a tree-planting program called “Trees in Trust” whereby trees are planted in public areas. The issue is that there must be seven metres around the tree on all sides. This might be problematic given the small size of most lots in our area.

Next meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 15 April at 6:30pm in the Meeting Room at the Glebe Community Centre.

Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting

Peggy questioned the action item regarding a petition on speed limits on the second page of the minutes. That action item was removed from the minutes.

David put forward a motion to approve the amended minutes; it was seconded by Craig.

Business arising from last minutes

Park redevelopment

Peggy told the group that Councillor Chernushenko had advised GACA to pursue cash-in-lieu funding for the park.

Traffic and Parking

Iain said the Glebe Community Association (GCA) has developed a motion and petition to reduce the speed limit on the Glebe side of Powell Avenue. The GCA’s main concern is the volume of traffic on Powell; something that is also an issue on our side. In fact, our side of Powell has more volume than the Glebe side.

Action: Peggy will follow the progress of the petition and will share the results of the traffic management study if GCA would like to see it. Peggy will also lobby for the GACA side of Powell to be included in any future traffic study commissioned by the GCA.

Peggy said she followed up with Abbas about the parking petition they had drafted. She was told that the petition had been sent to the city, but there has been no follow up. Peggy told Abbas that GACA is willing to help out by following up with the city on their behalf.

Parking is a great issue over which to engage with the community, David said.

Peggy said it would be necessary to determine exactly where the problem areas are. Iain suggested that Board members could walk around the neighbourhood and take notes regarding the parking restrictions on particular streets.

Peggy said that GACA could develop a form for Abbas, asking their customers to identify their issues regarding parking. The top 7 or 8 problem areas could be listed on the GACA website and we could ask members for comments, Lisa suggested.

Membership report

GACA currently has 87 members, Brenda said. She added that there are still some areas to be canvassed and that we can also sell memberships at the May clean up. The membership target for this year is 100.

There is currently one corporate membership. All of the other businesses that have been approached have decided not to buy a corporate membership.

Responding to a question, Brenda said that we will sell memberships for $10 until June. After that, the cost will be prorated. All memberships sold this year expire at the end of 2015.

Communication/marketing

Action: Lisa will develop an email template that will be used when new minutes are posted on the association website.

Preston Street BIA traffic initiative

Peggy drafted and sent a letter of support to the Preston Street BIA. To date, GACA is the only community association that has sent them a letter of support. Peggy said she is going to attend the next GCA traffic committee meeting, along with a representative from the Preston Street BIA, to discuss the traffic initiative.

Action: Peggy will send the traffic initiative discussion notes to the Board.

Bronson Street rezoning and redevelopment

Iain said he followed up with Sylvia regarding the GCA proposal that had been sent to the city. That proposal called for 6 storeys on both sides of Bronson. Iain said that it would be beneficial to for GACA to draft a letter to the city stating our support of the 6-storey restriction on both sides of the street.

Graffiti

Action: Iain will follow up with Glebe High School about the graffiti project that he had previously proposed.

Peggy said the city has just released its Paint It Up grant program. The program requires youth involvement, and proposals must be submitted by 27 March. The timelines are likely a bit short for GACA to be involved this year.

Action: Iain will attend a city session on the program.

Other items

Tree Ottawa

Sue said the city has a tree-planting program called “Trees in Trust,” whereby trees are planted in public areas. The issue is that there must be seven metres around the tree on all sides. This might be problematic given the small size of most lots in our area.

Bus service

Iain told the group that the GCA has decided not to support a proposal calling for increased frequency of buses on routes 1, 6 and 7 because there is already funding in the city budget to increase frequency on these routes.

Action: Iain will follow up with the GCA on this issue.

Convenience store conversions

The city has a new policy that allows for the conversion of certain neighbourhood properties into enterprises like artist studios, convenience stores, cafes and medical facilities. There are restrictions on the type of properties that can be converted and there would be no parking associated with these conversions, Scott said.

Security committee

Peggy suggested that she and Darlene walk around the neighbourhood and identify the issues that still exist from the community safety audit.

Action: Peggy will report back to the group at the next meeting and will also follow up with the Councillor’s office about funding.

Peggy said that Brenda had introduced her to a community member who is interested in security issues. That person volunteered to do some research into crime statistics for the GACA area.

Party in the Park

Action: A discussion about the party will be brought forward to the next Board meeting. Lisa will put out a call for volunteers to work on the party. Sue will contact Morris to see if he is interested in helping with this year’s party.

Next meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 18 March at 6:30pm in the Meeting Room at the Glebe Community Centre.

Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting

David asked that Sue’s name be added to the minutes and Craig corrected the spelling of his last name.

Iain put forward a motion to approve the amended minutes; it was seconded by Chris.

Business arising from last minutes

Safety audit

Peggy told the group that she had met with Councillor Chernushenko and his assistant on 18 December 2014 to review the safety audit report and learn about their discussions with city staff. Their focus was on the higher-priority items (e.g., sign and climbing structure in park, lighting on McLean Street, graffiti). Natalie will send Peggy an updated list of audit items with the suggested actions and Peggy will forward it to the board. Some of the items require clarification, Peggy said.

Peggy added that action on some of the items (particularly those related to lighting) is dependent on funding. She said that the requests for funding have gone to the appropriate city departments.

In terms of the play structure in the park, the recommendation is to remove the unsafe structure. It is scheduled for renewal in 2017; however, it will be added to the capital request list for consideration in the 2015 budget. That request will be prioritized along with all of the others.

Iain commented that it might be better to wait to renew the whole park instead of just one piece of equipment.

Action: Sue will follow up with the Councillor’s office about the issues around the park redevelopment.

Some issues related to speed limits were raised in the audit. To move forward, a neighbourhood petition is required along with ward/councillor consent.

Action: Lisa will send out the city’s policy regarding petitions to the group.

Iain questioned whether or not the board would support a resident’s petition (e.g., the spa has started a petition about parking restrictions in the neighbourhood). The group discussed this, and the consensus was that there would be support if the board agreed with the substance of the petition.

Membership report

The current membership total stands at 67, Brenda said. She added that she has had incredible support from the Lakelander in terms of canvassing. There are still some streets that need to be canvassed. Various board members agreed to canvass on some of the streets that require coverage.

Action: Peggy will go through last year’s membership list and approach people who have not renewed their memberships.

Brenda said that she has not had much success when she approached businesses about memberships.

Peggy mentioned that Abbas has started a petition about weekend parking restrictions in the area. She spoke to one of the owners and said that the association could potentially help with that issue.

The group briefly discussed how it would approach an issue if there was no consensus either on the board or in the neighbourhood. Iain said it is important to hear from residents and to move forward slowly ensuring that the association is representative of residents’ views.

Action: The board will bring forward a discussion about honorary memberships to the next board meeting.

Communication/marketing

Brenda said the email list could be used more effectively to solicit residents’ views on issues.

Action: Lisa will review the email lists and ensure that only paid members receive association emails.

Action: Lisa will develop an email template that will be used when new minutes are posted on the association website.

Preston Street BIA traffic initiative

Peggy presented the board with a traffic proposal that is being explored by the Preston Street BIA. It calls for the addition of an on-ramp at Booth Street, the addition of an extra lane of traffic on Orangeville and the removal of the off-ramp at Bronson.

Next steps would be for the BIA to initiate traffic studies. The BIA is meeting again in January and would like to know if GACA is prepared to give a letter of support for them to continue exploring this traffic option.

The group discussed the pros and cons of the proposal and the possible impact on our neighbourhood.

Action: Peggy will draft a letter saying that she presented the idea to the board and that the board would like to be involved in the process going forward. GACA will review any additional proposals with the impact on our neighbourhood in mind and will present a more formalized proposal to the broader community at a later date, as necessary.

Bronson Street rezoning and redevelopment

Chris said that a recent ward report by Councillor Chernushenko had contained a mention of limiting buildings on the east side of Bronson to four storeys, while allowing six storeys on the west side. This is an issue that Sylvia had already addressed with the Glebe Community Association, and Chris said he was disappointed to see it in the ward report. He said he would like both sides of the street treated the same way.

David said that he didn’t think that Sylvia was against the six storeys. He said the issue goes to Planning Committee in February.

Action: Iain suggested bringing this issue forward to the next meeting. He said he would follow up with Sylvia to get clarification about her conversations with the Glebe Community Association.

Graffiti

The graffiti at the government buildings was dealt with thanks to action by a resident.

Action: Iain will follow up with Glebe High School about the graffiti project that he had previously proposed.

Letter from resident

Iain will circulate a letter he received from a community member about issues around snow removal, bus service, and the intersection at Bronson and Carling. He asked if the board wanted to endorse her letter. The board did not reach consensus on this issue.

Other items

Government lot for sale

The board decided it would monitor progress on the sale of this lot and would investigate its zoning.

Spring clean up

Julie offered to organize the spring clean up. The board decided that the clean up would be held on Saturday 2 May at 10am, with a rain date of the following Saturday 9 May.

Action: Darlene will contact Tim Horton’s to arrange for the coffee and doughnuts.

Next meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 18 February at 6:30pm in the Meeting Room at the Glebe Community Centre.